Annual trout derby makes a little fish worth big money

Mark Gorman, St. Thomas, is no stranger to the Chambersburg Noontime Lions Club's annual trout derby. In fact, he's been catching fish at the event for 14 years.

But this year has definitely got to be his best because at the end of the day Sunday, he came away with the $2,000 prize fish.

"This is the best weekend I ever had," Gorman said, laughing. "I caught two $50 fish on Saturday and caught the $2,000 fish this morning around 6 a.m."

Gorman said he caught the fish, a small rainbow trout, and didn't really expect it would be the prize one.

"I was standing in line to get it looked at and this guy said that $2,000 fish hadn't been caught yet. I jokingly said, 'well, it's right here in my net.' He read off the tag number of the winning fish and I couldn't believe when it matched up," he said.

Another winner, Ryan Rockwell, Fayetteville, caught the largest trout of the derby, a trout that was 20 inches long, had an 11 inch girth and weighed 4 pounds 4 oz. for a total of 31 inches.

"I caught some tagged fish during the derby, but not like this," he said.

The money, he said, will be split among the family group, around 10, that were out fishing this weekend, but already has an idea of what he will do with his share.

"I'm going to save it up," Rockwell said. "It's good to save money."

Of the 600 fish tagged, 331 of those were caught, according to Dave Mummert, club treasurer, and of that amount, 67% were the higher values of $100 or higher.

Approximately $20,000 was paid out to fishermen, he said, including the big fish contest.

The first year the event was held, it made around $7,000 according to Dave Mummert, treasurer of the Lions Club, and last year, the event brought in just over $25,000.

Ryan Rockwell, Fayetteville, caught the largest trout of the derby, a trout that was 20 inches long, had an 11 inch girth and weighed 4 pounds 4 oz. for a total of 31 inches. (Lauren Cappuccio/Public Opinion)

This year's total for the organization will be around $20,000, which is less then last year, but that is because of the large amount of prize fish caught by fishermen, according to Mummert.

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Lauren Cappuccio can be contacted at lcappuccio@publicopinionnews.com and 262-4754.

Mark Gorman, St. Thomas, caught this rainbow trout which was tagged for $2,000. (Courtesy photo)

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